Feature Analysis of Business System 12
Ghica van Emde Boas-Lubsen
Abstract:
Business System 12 is the name of a Relational database system developed by
IBM, in the Netherlands, in the early 1980-ies, building on the work of a group
at Peterlee, UK. A first version of BS12 became operational in 1983. The system
was never installed at a client; users accessed the system in a time shared
environment. After IBM management had decided in the late 1980-ies no longer to
support the system, it remained in use on behalf of a major application until
1996.
In the database literature extremely little has been written about this system.
The present report is a facsimile version of an unpublished internal memorandum
at IBM Uithoorn; it describes the functionality of the system in the style as
advocated in the book by Schmidt and Brody, {\em Relational Database Systems,
Analysis and Comparison\/}, published in 1983.
BS12 has a number of features which are rather unique for the Relational
Database Systems, at least for those available in the 1980-ies. Its properties
made the system particularly suitable for performing experiments in the field
of deductive databases. This facsimile edition primarily has the purpose of
making this information bibliographically traceable.